How To Apply

Call for 2023-2024 Applicants now closed

We won’t be accepting new students into the Program until Spring 2024. For more detailed instructions, please read through the information, below.

Eligibility

The Hubbard Brook Field Ornithology Program is open to Cornell undergraduates in their first, second or third years. This provides time to develop a research project before going into the field, learn field techniques and apply them to a research question over the summer, and return in the fall to learn data management and analysis. If the results prove to be interesting and robust, you will work on preparing a manuscript as first-author or co-author for peer-reviewed publication. Many students join the Program to pursue their Honors thesis, which is highly encouraged.

Benefits

During each semester of the academic year, you will register to earn 2-3 research credits in BIOG 2990/4990. During the summer months, the Hubbard Brook Field Ornithology Program provides a weekly stipend and housing at the Likens Conservation Campus on Mirror Lake for 10-12 weeks.

The Program

Our goal is to expose you to the full research process, from project conception and design through field training, data collection and analysis, to writing and presenting your work. Research is fundamentally time-intensive. You will need to be able to dedicate 6-10 hours a week during the academic semesters.

Each year we support 6-7 students. You will develop your own research project and assist each other. You also have the opportunity to work together to develop and participate in outreach projects to broaden the impacts of your bird research to the Hubbard Brook community.

During each semester of the program, you will be expected to:

• Participate in weekly lab meetings to discuss past and current bird research at Hubbard Brook, share research ideas, and participate in professional development activities
• Meet with the Program Director every other week to share progress on your research project